An unemployed jewellery setter has taken to combing the streets of New York with a pair of tweezers to cash in on dropped gems and gold.
一位失業(yè)珠寶商用鑷子撿拾紐約街頭的珠寶和金子換錢(qián)。
The streets of New York may not quite be paved with gold. But one man in America is proving that the cracks on Manhattan pavements really can bear riches.
紐約街道也許并不是金子鋪成的,但一位美國(guó)人確實(shí)證明了曼哈頓街道的間隙里確實(shí)藏著財(cái)富。
Raffi Stepanian, 43, has begun crawling around the New York `Diamond District` on his hands and knees, plucking jewels and fragments of precious metals from between the slabs.
今年43歲的Raffi Stepanian經(jīng)常匍匐于紐約“鉆石區(qū)”,在石板的縫隙間夾出珠寶和部分貴重金屬。
Armed with a pair of tweezers, Mr Stepanian, an unemployed diamond setter from Queens, claims to have collected $1,010(£623) worth in the past fortnight.
Stepanian是紐約皇后區(qū)的一位失業(yè)珠寶商,他每天拿著鑷子干活,據(jù)他介紹,這兩個(gè)星期他已經(jīng)找到了價(jià)值1010美元(623英鎊)的貴重物品。
"I`m surviving on it," he said. "I may be about to trigger a new gold rush on the streets of New York, The soil in the sidewalks of 47th street are saturated with the stuff "
“我就是靠這個(gè)生活的。”他說(shuō)道,“我正打算在紐約街頭掀起一股新的淘金熱。第47號(hào)大街人行道上的泥土中充滿(mǎn)著財(cái)富。”
Mr Stepanian`s haul so far has included chips of diamonds and rubies, bits of platinum, and gold fragments from watches, earrings and necklaces.
Stepanian的成果包括鉆石及紅寶石的碎片,小塊片的鉑金,還有手表、耳環(huán)和項(xiàng)鏈上的黃金材料。
He has sold most of his discoveries to metal refiners or diamond sellers, while keeping some gold with a view to melting it down for future use.
他已經(jīng)將收集的絕大部分材料賣(mài)給了金煉者和珠寶商,只保留了少許黃金準(zhǔn)備將來(lái)熔煉后再用。
"You might get $30 per piece, but it all adds up, It is a rich area and people simply drop things, or their jewellery falls on the street, and it gets stuck in the mud or the gum. It`s like a mine, but more concentrated." he said.
“這些黃金可能一片才30美元,但如果將它們?nèi)蹮捲谝黄穑瑑r(jià)錢(qián)就大大提升了。這是一片富裕區(qū),而人們經(jīng)常掉東西,它們的珠寶掉落在大街上,然后被泥土或口香糖卡住。這里就像一座礦山,但寶藏更集中。”他介紹到。
"Being in the jewellery industry for 26 years, it was second nature to spot glistening fragments on the floors and in elevators. It was always tempting to pick them up. Now that`s what I`m doing." he said.
“在珠寶業(yè)摸爬滾打26年,在地板和電梯里發(fā)現(xiàn)閃光的東西已經(jīng)成為我的第二天性了。他們總是能吸引我把他們撿拾起來(lái),這就是我所做的。”他如是說(shuō)。